Governor cuts cash for Coast Commission

Coast needs permanent funding, not broken promises

Gov. Schwarzenegger talks tough about stopping offshore oil drilling and protecting our coast and ocean - but in July he "lined out" of the state budget $950,000 for the Coastal Commission.

The commission is the only state agency that can oppose the Bush administration's push for more offshore oil drilling, and the only state agency with jurisdiction over all four proposed California liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) terminals. Because of the governor's action, the commission will continue to have only three staff positions to review all the energy projects along 1,100 miles of coast: the 36 oil leases, the four LNG proposals, all coastal power-plant upgrades, and more than 20 proposed desalination plants.

Days after reaching `agreement' with the legislature on a budget, the governor exercised his line-item veto to cut a total of $40 million of environmental funding from the just-approved budget.

In a budget of over $117 billion, these cuts are miniscule, but their impacts on the coast and other environmental concerns will be immense. A third of the governor's cuts came from environmental programs. "Their relative size to the entire budget makes these cuts very disappointing," said Bill Allayaud, state director of Sierra Club California. (Other cuts include $10 million from Caltrans' Environmental Enhancement Mitigation Program, $9 million for more park rangers and maintenance, and $13 million from the chronically underfunded Department of Fish and Game.)

The governor stated that the Coastal Commission can raise its fees if it needs more money. This is factually inaccurate. State law prohibits this.

Over the last few budget cycles the Coastal Commission has lost almost 40 staff positions - one third of the agency - as its responsibilities expand! In his negotiations with the legislature, the governor agreed on the $950,000 increase to allow the commission to hire new staff, but then he cut the entire increase. In addition to preventing the commission from filling three new staff positions to deal with oil-drilling and LNG terminals, the cuts also eliminate five new staff positions specifically earmarked for coastal-access issues. The governor's decision means increased risk to coastal communities.

Sierra Club's Great Coastal Places Campaign, with a statewide network of 5,000 activists, is united behind securing a guaranteed, adequate funding source for coastal protection. Coastal tourism in California employs over 80,000 people and accounts for more than $1.5 billion in payrolls. In the face of its ongoing fiscal problems, California must prioritize the coast.

The Legislature is considering a measure which would guarantee a secure and adequate source of funding for coastal protection, but it is likely that such a bill could take several years to pass.

Other Coastal Commission news

In June the California Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling and found that the Coastal Commission was indeed constitutional. Development interests had challenged the composition of the commission on the grounds that part of its membership is appointed by the legislative leaders. This tremendous victory allows the nation's preeminent coastal-protection program to continue working to protect the coast for future generations.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata reappointed coastal champion Mary Shallenberger to the commission, and also responded to environmentalists by not reappointing Laguna Beach Councilmember Toni Iseman to the Commission. In Iseman's place, Perata appointed Manhattan Beach Councilmember Jim Aldinger. Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez appointed Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla to replace outgoing Commissioner Scott Peters, who resigned after three years on the job. We have high hopes for both new commissioners.

On a less happy note, Speaker Núñez disappointed coastal-protection advocates by reappointing Monterey County Supervisor Dave Potter to the commission. Potter has a very poor conservation voting record on the Commission and consistently exhibits an aggressive pro-development perspective. In particular, Potter has endorsed the proposal by the Pebble Beach Company to chop down 17,000 Monterey pines, one of the tree's very few remaining stands in its native habitat, for yet another golf course in Monterey, despite the finding of the commission's staff that the project is patently inconsistent with the Coastal Act.

All in all, the Coastal Commission is in far better shape than just a few months ago.

WhatYouCanDo -

Write to the editors of your local papers today. (The following list contains only a few of the bigger ones.)

San Francisco Chronicle
901 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
letters@sfchronicle.com

The Examiner
450 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
letters@examiner.com

Contra Costa Times
2640 Shadelands Drive
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
letters@cctimes.com

San Jose Mercury News
750 Ridder Park Drive
San Jose, CA 95190
letters@mercurynews.com

Explain why the state needs to find a secure funding source for the Coastal Commission.

Mark Massara and Owen Bailey, Sierra Club Great Coastal Places Campaign